Cast Two Shadows
by Veroxion
Summary: /Re-writing. SasuSaku\ With Orochimaru's death, Sasuke takes place as the Otokage. An alliance is made with Konoha. Under one condition; Haruno Sakura is sent to Otogakure as part of the deal. The only question is... what does Sasuke want with her?
1. Shadows

**PLEASE NOTE: **I am currently re-writing the chapters for this story. There will be no new chapters until I have completed re-writing the first two.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Plot belongs to Veroxion.

* * *

Shadows

"You sicken me."

Those were the last words the snake sennin with piercing golden eye's heard before the katana slicked across his pale neck, slitting his throat as blood spurted out of the fresh wound, pooling around his lifeless body as it lay limp on the bed, long dark hair was strewn over the mattress, blood mixing and forming hard clumps.

The Uchiha snapped his katana back into place back into its case behind his back, held in place by the purple rope that was tied around his waist, baggy white sleeve's pooling around dark armguards as hands were stuffed into blue pockets, stalking away from the bloody mess that he had left during his innocent little 'visit'.

...

Sasuke stopped, hearing soft footsteps in the distance as a pair ebony eye's hidden behind circled glass's came into view, silver hair tied neatly behind, few bang's framing his face, an Oto headband placed proudly on his forehead.

"Kabuto."

"Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke closed his eye's, almost giving a small smirk.

Kabuto was ignorant, not knowing about anything or Sasuke's true plans, letting everything run free and dandy, hoping his master would get everything he desired, oh how wrong he was and on so many levels as well. Kabuto was a small pawn in Sasuke's plan, not only was Kabuto a medical ninja (which was good when it came to injuries) but he could complete the next task without inflicting any pain or hurting anyone physically, he could simply put them to sleep with the flick of his wrist.

But Kabuto was also loyal to Orochimaru and Sasuke doubted he would listen to _him_, after all Sasuke had shown no respect whatsoever to Orochimaru, nor Kabuto for that matter.

_I should just kill him._

And although the thought was pleasing and his thirst for blood shred was rising, he pushed the thought down and spoke.

"Orochimaru is dead."

Kabuto's eye's widened for a moment, mouth agape slightly as he stared at Sasuke in disbelief before they returned normal and Sasuke half-expected him to lash out with a scalpel to try and kill him, of course that would never happen, seeing as Sasuke was stronger than him.

"I suppose it is your doing, Sasuke?"

The 'kun' suffix was gone, Sasuke immediately noticed that but it was also the calm way Kabuto had spoken, as if he _knew _this would happen all along and that irked Sasuke, knowing that maybe someone knew of his plans when he had been secretly plotting but before he could say anything, Kabuto spoke again.

"If I am correct, you plan to become Otogakure's new kage?"

Sasuke smirked.

Kabuto was a smart bastard, he'd give him that.

"Hn. Aren't you smart."

Kabuto gave his own smirk in reply as he nodded his head.

"Shall I dispose of the corpse, Sasuke-_sama_?"

Sasuke-sama.

He liked the sound of that, not only the way it sounded but it meant he had power over the shinobi who resided in Otogakure, he had the will to do whatever he felt like doing and they couldn't have a say in it unless they wanted to be killed, which Sasuke was sure they didn't.

A shinobi's life was too important to be taken away.

"Hn. Burn it, immediately." and with those words, Sasuke burst into flickering flames and disappeared, leaving Kabuto to stare at the endless hallway, thinking.

Then, he gave a soft sigh as he made his way to Orochimaru's chambers and creaked open the door, seeing the corpse lying the bed, fresh warm blood soaking the bedding he gave another sigh, wondering why Sasuke had to be messy with his killings, of course Kabuto couldn't blame him, he couldn't make clean killings like he could with his medical jutsu.

Kabuto merely gave another sigh as he began soaking the blood up.

* * *

_Dattebayo!, Dattebayo!, Dattebayo!_

That was the only thing going through Uzumaki Naruto's head as he ran through the streets of Konohagakure, dodging people, animals and food stalls as he zoomed past Ichiraku's, ignoring the shop keepers blank stare of disbelief.

What could be more important than ditching his precious beloved ramen?

_Have. To. Find. Sakura-chan. And. Kakashi-sensei. NOW!_

Naruto launched himself off the ground, jumping onto a nearby rooftop as he began to hop along, pushing himself from one roof to the next, all at the same time grinning like a maniac.

_This is the best day EVER!_

Finally, seeing a head of pink and silver, Naruto landed in front of them.

Sakura jumped back in fright at Naruto's sudden appearance and Kakashi looked up from his orange book, raising a thin grey eyebrow at the huge grin Naruto had on his face.

"Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, GUESS WHAT!?" he shouted in their face's, causing Sakura to glare at him and resist to give him a good punch to the head, Kakashi merely turned a page of the book, looking uninterested.

"What, Naruto?"

"Tsunade-baachan called me to the Hokage tower this morning and and and-"

"Spit it out already!" Sakura growled, raising a fist, indicating that she could 'persuade' him if she had to.

"I'm the next Hokage!"

The book fell out of Kakashi's hands as they both stared at the beaming Naruto.

Surely... he... hadn't?

...but apparently he had, even though Naruto always said that he was the best person for Hokage and joked about it, saying he would furfil it.. but he wouldn't go this far with a joke, that only meant would thing.

He had done it.

Like he said he would.

Silence covered them as they stared at Naruto, eye's wide, mouths open.. well Naruto _assumed_ Kakashi's mouth was open.

"Congratulations, Naruto!" Sakura was the first to break the silence as she gave Naruto a smile and Naruto gave a cheesy one in return.

"Yeah, Congratulations, Naruto. You fulfilled your dream." Kakashi said as he picked up his book from the ground, brushing the precious page's off as he stuck it in his kunai pouch, listening to Naruto as he replayed what Tsunade had told him earlier that morning, Kakashi merely gave a small sigh before poofing away.

"Hey!, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, glaring but it was no use as he was already gone, he then turned to Sakura who was still smiling with a hint of proudness in her eye's.

"Ichiraku?"

"Sure, Naruto.."

* * *

"You know what he's going to do.." Kakashi trailed uncertainly as he stood in front of the now former Hokage's desk, she sighed and stood up, walking towards the window to look over Konoha. Tsunade looked as young genin went around doing their daily missions and as civilians walked through the streets, the gentle breeze blowing leaves around the village.

"I know, but I'm getting old, the sixth Hokage had to be chosen... I merely recommended Naruto for the position, seeing as he is so determined. The elders accepted. In the end it was not my decision."

"So you can't change it?"

Tsunade frowned.

"No. I cannot."

_Doesn't he want Naruto to become Hokage?_

_I know he can be a brat at times and he is an idiot but he is strong and determined._

_He would make a great Hokage._

_I believe in him._

Tsunade straightened herself out, taking in a breath of air as she turned around to see Kakashi who had a troubled gaze on. "The decision has been made."

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"I see..."

Tsunade sat down in the Hokage's chair, rubbing her temples, reaching for the small bottle of sake under her desk, bringing it to her pink lips and having a sip, staring at Kakashi through half-lidded amber eye's.

"Why are you so concerned about all of this, Kakashi?" Tsunade's voice broke the silence that lingered between them both.

"Because... on a recent mission I found out important information."

Tsunade put the sake firmly down on the desk, giving a small growl of disapproval as her hands gripped the sake bottle tightly.

"And why wasn't this brought to my attention, sooner?"

"I apologize."

Tsunade snorted but motioned for him to continue, interested in what he had to say as to why he didn't want Naruto to become the Rokudaime.

"Orochimaru is dead."

Before Tsunade to let out a choke of disbelief, Kakashi continued.

"Uchiha Sasuke has taken place as the Otokage."

Tsunade's eye's narrowed.

_So he really is a traitor._

"..and if I remember correctly..."

Tsunade urged him to go on, still interested in what Kakashi had to say, even thought he had gotten to the point already, this information could have a major impact, after all.

"Konoha and Oto are enemies with each other...with Sasuke as the Otokage and Naruto as the Hokage... I expect there to be a great ninja war."

The sake bottle shattered under the Godaime's grip.

* * *


	2. Turning Around

**PLEASE NOTE: **I am currently re-writing the chapters for this story. There will be no new chapters until I have completed re-writing the first two.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Plot belongs to Veroxion.

* * *

Turning Around

Sakura felt herself let out a small groan as Naruto kept babbling on, apparently he was explaining his future to her, really fast with very little detail and in her opinion it sounded corny and boring, who would want to live their life like Naruto wanted to, in her opinion it sounded way to planned, although he had had his whole life to plan it out so she couldn't really complain.

Sakura wouldn't deny the fact that she was proud of him, she was, she was proud that he had accomplished his dream and soon he would be respected by everyone in the village and viewed as a great Hokage.

"-now only if Sasuke-teme was here, I could so rub it in his face!"

Sakura flinched as Sasuke's name was mentioned, she realized during the years he was away from Konoha, supposedly getting stronger to kill his brother and avenge his clan, she felt herself detesting the name, not loving the sound of it like she used to.

She was starting to hate Sasuke instead of love him.

"-could send a team to retrieve him and then we can be Team 7 again, wouldn't that be fun, Sakura-chan?. I haven't broken my promise yet, I'll bring him back, datte-"

"No."

Naruto stopped his ranting to look at Sakura quizzically, eye's wide with shock, wasn't Sasuke's return something she wanted?

So why was she saying 'no' and looking...angry?

"I don't want him back."

Naruto flinched at Sakura's words, when had she gotten like this?

"...Sakura-chan, I thought you wanted teme back though?"

Sakura sighed and prodded her miso ramen with her chopsticks, looking into the murky liquid that surrounded them, the ramen was already cold, she hadn't touched it while Naruto had been through at least five bowels, she looked at her reflection in the water.

"Not anymore, you don't have to bring him back, you can forget that promise, Naruto"

Naruto let out a small inaudible sigh, turning to her with another huge grin.

"I never go back on my word, Sakura-chan!, that's my nindo my ninja way..!"

Sakura frowned, why wasn't he listening?

Didn't Naruto understand that she didn't want Sasuke back?

She would not deny that she loved Sasuke, she did care for him as well but she thought that maybe, just maybe him being away from Konoha would be for the best, she knew deep down that Sasuke wouldn't come back willingly until his revenge was completed.

He might not come back at all.

And she was secretly hoping that would be the case.

She didn't want him back, it would only cause' more pain.

"..Naruto, I have a shift at the hospital, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Sakura whispered she stood from Ichiraku's bar stool and put the money owed for the ramen she had bought but never ate, she slowly walked out the bar and Naruto watched the Haruno symbol on her back as she walked away from him to do her job.

He looked back towards the untouched cold ramen.

_Every time you hear his name you break a little inside...dattebayo._

* * *

"This isn't good." Tsunade muttered, staring down the spilt liquid that was not wetting countless numbers of files and documents that were unfinished. Kakashi stood watching her, her brow that seemed deemed of wrinkles furrowed with thinking, her pink covered lips in a frown that almost looked of one of confusion, her nutmeg eyes narrowed slightly.

She didn't know what to do, if she made Naruto Hokage, he would no doubt send a squad to get Sasuke back, not only would the shinobi be killed immediately, (heck Sasuke had killed a _sennin_) but Sasuke might be tempted to attack Konoha, he was Orochimaru's student after all, surely the immortal-obsessed sennin had filled his head with his plans to destroy the village.

Plus, Naruto was here and Tsunade was as sure as hell that Sasuke would seek him out and kill him to gain the Mangekou Sharingan to fight his brother, who was still alive, as far as they could tell, but if Sasuke could kill Orochimaru then he was stronger than they imagined and he might just have a chance against Itachi.

"What are you going to do, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked gently as Tsunade was snapped out of her thoughts of the younger Uchiha's future plans.

"Naruto's Hokage ceremony is coming up, in any case, _he_is the Hokage. Not me."

"B-but Tsun-"

"He will make the decision concerning the Uchiha."

Kakashi nodded, even though Naruto had matured over the years, he still had his heart content on bringing Sasuke back, at all costs and nothing would change that fact and Kakashi was worried he would lose more than just Team 7, he was worried he would lose his student's lives.

* * *

"You should be more careful, Neji-san." Sakura smiled as she finished healing his shoulder wound.

"I will be more careful in the future, Haruno-san. Thank-you for your assistance."

"It's my job, now you need to rest that shoulder, even though I have healed the muscle that was torn, the bone was dislocated and it will still be painful for another week or so." Sakura scribbled down something on her clipboard as she ripped the piece of paper off and handed it to Neji, who accepted it as he pulled his top on again and stalked out of the room, mumbling another 'thanks'.

Sakura sighed as she slipped out of the room, looking around as all forms of shinobi were walking down the hallway, some with fresh wounds, some with healed wounds and some trying to seek out their friends rooms to visit them.

_It reminds me of when I visited Sas-_

Sakura mentally shook all thoughts of _him _out of her mind as she walked past the reception desk, her shift finished for the day as said a polite 'good-bye' to the woman currently at reception as smiled back, now walking out of the hospital and down the streets of Konoha towards her home, mumbling to herself the whole time.

_Why can't I just forget about him, dammit!_

_All he does is cause me pain... fuck, I'd be better off-_

Sakura swung her head to the side as a kunai missed her by inches, darting around she scanned the area, seeing only silver hair and a little orange book.

Sakura thought she was about to pop a blood vessel.

"Kaka-sensei!, what was that for!"

Kakashi removed his beloved book from his face as he smiled at her, "just making sure you're paying attention.."

"Hmph, and why wouldn't I be paying attention, hmm?" Sakura shot back.

"...you still think about him, right? Sasuke.."

Sakura just looked away and continued to walk, ignoring Kakashi, he watched her back as she wobbled slightly, fists clenched.

He watched and did nothing because he knew he couldn't do anything, she was past the point of comforting and the only comfort she seemed to tolerate was from Naruto and that was only because he would throw himself at her before she had a chance to say anything and then he would say something funny and it would make her smile.

Sakura stopped and Kakashi watched as she looked over her shoulder at him, he didn't see any tears but he knew they would fall eventually, they always did.

"I do think about him.." and then she was gone and he saw her jump across some rooftops before she was out of sight and all that was left was the moon hanging over Konoha as the stars shined brightly.

Even though he didn't see the tears in her eye's, he watched as they fell to the ground when she took off and he walked towards the small splashes that had made their way to the cracked pavement and he looked at them and then he looked to the side and saw... the bench.

Kakashi frowned and turned back around and walked the other way, heading towards the memorial stone.

_Naruto, I hope you make the right choice when you hear about Sasuke... not only for yourself and the village but... for Sakura._

* * *

Sasuke looked around Orochimaru's old office... or his den or whatever he used to call it, it didn't matter though because it was no longer Orochimaru's, it was _his _and he had the desire to call it whatever he liked, smirking he decided to take a little look around.

Wrinkling his nose up at the horrid smell of rotting snake skins that were trapped in jars, Sasuke look at the blood splatters on the wall and floor, where he was sure countless of shinobi were butchered for ticking Orochimaru off, when Sasuke was younger and had first come to Orochimaru, he remembered the screams shinobi made as they were slaughtered, it didn't matter thought, although it did spark up the memory of the Uchiha massacre.

Glaring, Sasuke looked over at a small table, rummaging through several scrolls, finding none of them interesting he raised an eyebrow when he saw a... dead.. hand?

On closer examination, he realized it was a dead hand, the finger nails cracked and dripping dry blood that would never fall, the knuckles looked bruised and beaten and the palm looked rough and hard, the fingers pointed up as the skin sagged and hung loosely around the bone and then something caught his eye.

It was... a ring?

Like Itachi's.

Only this one was sky blue instead of deep crimson and Sasuke found himself glaring and growling as she swatted the hand off the small table as it fell to the floor with a soft 'thud', ignoring it for a moment, Sasuke tried to calm himself down, there was no point in getting angry, he could save that for when he fought Itachi.

Frowning, Sasuke sat down in seat ran a hand through his dark, ebony hair, gulping slightly, he had to get a hold on himself, leaning back into the chair he sighed, finally starting to relax and as he closed his eye's.. he thought of them.

He thought of that cheeky grin as blue eye's appeared in his vision, prodding him with questions and annoyance that seemed to lace every single word that came out of his mouth, the way he would glare when their sensei made fun of him, or claimed someone else to be better than him, he saw the determination in those sapphire pools and it.. almost made him feel proud to know that someone was this willing, it was like having a brother all over again, someone that he _could _trust and depend on.

_Dobe..._

And then he thought of that bright smile and shining jade eye's as laughs came out of her soft pink lips as they rippled everywhere and seemed to make everyone happy and they spread, like a genjutsu, as she shyly stole glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking and the way she'd greet him every morning, her hand high in the sky waving, he never admitted it but he... almost liked her care, it made him feel wanted.

_Sakura..._

"Sasuke-sama."

Bleeding red eye's snapped open as he glared at the person who interrupted his small dream of happiness that he rarely had anymore since it was gone.

"What?" he snarled as Kabuto just smirked and readjusted his glasses and he pushed them further up on the bridge of his nose.

"I have some information that I'm sure you'll find... amusing."

Sasuke felt like rolling his eye's, the only thing Sasuke considered amusing at the moment were Kabuto's guts splayed out all over the room.

"Hn."

Kabuto smirked again, "I'll take it that you want to know?"

"Hn."

"Konoha has a new Hokage."

"Hn."

"Care to take a guess who it is?"

"Hn."

"Now come on, I'm sure that-"

"Get to the point, dipshit."

"Uzumaki Naruto has become the next Hokage."

"Hn, is that so..." Sasuke smirked as he mused on how ecstatic Naruto must have been when he found out.

"I told you, you would-

"Shut up and get the fuck out."

"...hai."

And as Kabuto excited the room, seemingly annoyed Sasuke couldn't help but give a small cruel laugh.

"Well, what now dobe, eh?"

* * *


	3. Author's Note Important, Please Read

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Cast Two Shadows has been discontinued. The replacment fanfiction has been posted on DeviantART and you can find the link on my profile. Thank-you to all the reviewers, I greatly appreciated your feedback! I might continue Cast Two Shadows in the future, but please don't hold me to it. Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to the next chapter. To be honest, the replacement fanfiction has basically the same plot, just slightly changed.

-Veroxion.

**EDIT  
**(_6/5/09_)

I have recently decided to re-write Cast Two Shadows. I started to type up the new plot yesterday (it's basically the same, with a few minor changes). I found the original as one as well, in a scraps folder so I will be able to make the first chapters better than ever. Hopefully this will please some of you, I know some of you are extremely displeased with the fact that I haven't been updating for awhile and I do apologize, I know how frustrating it is. Before I continue Cast Two Shadws, I'd like to complete My Antidote and finish another multi-chaptered fanfiction. I know that seems like a while away, but please be patient and I'll try not to disappoint :)


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